Information processing systems, information processing methods, and programs

Abstract

To enable the calculation of emissions when multiple emission factors exist. [Solution] The system is characterized by comprising: an activity amount storage unit that stores the amount of activity associated with greenhouse gas emission activities; an emission factor storage unit that stores emission factors for calculating greenhouse gas emissions associated with activities, wherein the emission factor storage unit stores multiple emission factors for each activity; and an emission calculation unit that receives input information identifying the emission factor, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the emission factor corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, referring to the emission factor storage unit and the activity amount storage unit.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Estimation of carbon dioxide emissions has been performed (see Patent Document 1). [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-091900 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] However, a plurality of emission factors exist even for the same activity.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of calculating an emission amount when a plurality of emission factors exist. [[Means for Solving the Problem]]

[0006] A main invention of the present invention for solving the above problem comprises: an activity amount storage unit that stores an activity amount in association with an activity that emits greenhouse gas; an emission factor storage unit that stores an emission factor for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gas in association with the activity, wherein the emission factor storage unit stores a plurality of emission factors for one activity; and an emission amount calculation unit that accepts input of information specifying the emission factor, refers to the emission factor storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the emission factor corresponding to the accepted information by the corresponding activity amount.

[0007] Further issues and solutions disclosed in this application will be made clear in the section on embodiments of the invention and in the drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, emissions can be calculated when multiple emission factors exist. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of management server 2. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the software configuration for management server 2. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the operation of management server 2. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the software configuration of the management server 2 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the software configuration of the management server 2 according to the third embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] <Summary of the Invention> The embodiments of the present invention will be described by listing them. The present invention has, for example, the following configuration. [Item 1] An activity amount storage unit that stores activity amounts in association with activities that emit greenhouse gases, An emission factor storage unit for storing emission factors for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in association with the activity, the emission factor storage unit storing a plurality of emission factors for each activity, An emission calculation unit receives input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, referring to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit. An information processing system characterized by comprising the following features. [Item 2] The information processing system described in item 1, The emission factor storage unit stores the activity and the emission factor in association with set identification information that identifies an emission set, which includes one emission factor corresponding to each of the multiple activities. The emission calculation unit receives the input of the set identification information and calculates the emission by multiplying each of the emission coefficients corresponding to the received set identification information by the corresponding activity amount. An information processing system characterized by the following. [Item 3] A set storage unit that stores records associating activity identification information that identifies activities that emit greenhouse gases, the amount of activity related to said activities, emission coefficients for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by said activities, and activity amount identification information that identifies said activity amount, wherein the set storage unit stores a plurality of said records for one said activity, An emission calculation unit receives the input of the activity identification information and the activity quantity identification information, reads the record corresponding to the received activity identification information and the activity quantity identification information from the set storage unit, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the activity quantity and the emission coefficient contained in the read record, An information processing system characterized by comprising the following features. [Item 4] The information processing system described in item 3, The system includes an update unit that, when the first emission coefficient of the first record stored in the set storage unit is updated to the second emission coefficient, identifies a second record from the set storage unit that contains the same activity identification information as the first record, and updates the emission coefficient of the identified second record to the second emission coefficient. An information processing system characterized by the following. [Item 5] The information processing system described in item 3, The activity amount specifying information is information that specifies a set including one activity amount corresponding to each of the plurality of activities, An information processing system characterized by: [Item 6] a step of storing an activity amount in an activity amount storage unit in association with an activity that emits greenhouse gases; a step of storing, in an emission factor storage unit, an emission factor for calculating an emission amount of the greenhouse gas in association with the activity, the step including storing a plurality of the emission factors for one activity in the emission factor storage unit; a step of receiving an input of information specifying the emission factor, referring to the emission factor storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the emission factor corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount; An information processing method characterized in that the steps are executed by a computer. [Item 7] a step of storing, in a set storage unit, a record that associates activity specifying information for specifying an activity that emits greenhouse gases, an activity amount related to the activity, an emission factor for calculating an emission amount of the greenhouse gas from the activity, and emission factor specifying information for specifying the emission factor, the step including storing a plurality of the records for one activity in the set storage unit; a step of receiving an input of the activity specifying information and the emission factor specifying information, reading the record corresponding to the received activity specifying information and emission factor specifying information from the set storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount and the emission factor included in the read record; An information processing method characterized in that the steps are executed by a computer. [Item 8] a step of storing an activity amount in an activity amount storage unit in association with an activity that emits greenhouse gases; a step of storing, in an emission factor storage unit, an emission factor for calculating an emission amount of the greenhouse gas in association with the activity, the step including storing a plurality of the emission factors for one activity in the emission factor storage unit; The steps include receiving input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, referring to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, A program that causes a computer to execute something. [Item 9] A step of storing in a set storage unit records that associate activity identification information that identifies an activity that emits greenhouse gases, the amount of activity related to the activity, an emission factor for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the activity, and emission factor identification information that identifies the emission factor, wherein a plurality of the records are stored for one of the activities, The steps include receiving the input of the activity identification information and the emission factor identification information, reading the record corresponding to the received activity identification information and the emission factor identification information from the set storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount and the emission factor contained in the read record, A program that causes a computer to execute something.

[0011] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system of this embodiment is configured to include a management server 2. The management server 2 is connected to a user terminal 1 via a communication network. The communication network is, for example, the internet and is constructed using public telephone lines, mobile phone lines, wireless communication channels, Ethernet (registered trademark), etc.

[0012] User terminal 1 is a computer operated by the user. User terminal 1 can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a personal computer.

[0013] The management server 2 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer, or it may be logically implemented through cloud computing.

[0014] <Management Server> Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the management server 2. Note that the illustrated configuration is just one example, and other configurations are also possible. The management server 2 includes a CPU 201, memory 202, storage device 203, communication interface 204, input device 205, and output device 206. The storage device 203 stores various data and programs, such as a hard disk drive, solid-state drive, or flash memory. The communication interface 204 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 3, such as an adapter for connecting to Ethernet®, a modem for connecting to a public telephone network, a wireless communication device for wireless communication, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector or RS232C connector for serial communication. The input device 205 is for inputting data, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, button, or microphone. The output device 206 is for outputting data, such as a display, printer, or speaker. Furthermore, each functional unit of the management server device 2, described later, is realized by the CPU 201 reading programs stored in the storage device 203 into memory 202 and executing them, and each storage unit of the management server 2 is realized as part of the storage area provided by memory 202 and storage device 203.

[0015] Figure 3 shows an example of the software configuration of the management server 2. The management server 2 includes an activity amount storage unit 231, an emission factor storage unit 232, an emission storage unit 233, an activity storage unit 234, an emission calculation unit 211, and an emission output unit 212.

[0016] <Storage section> The activity amount storage unit 231 stores activity amounts associated with activities that emit greenhouse gases. The activity amount storage unit 231 stores time information (in this embodiment, the year and month are assumed) associated with a company ID that identifies the entity responsible for the activity (in this embodiment, a company is assumed) along with information for identifying the activities performed by the company during the period indicated by the time information, and the activity amount. The activity amount storage unit 231 can store activity amounts transmitted from, for example, the user terminal 1.

[0017] The emission factor storage unit 232 stores emission factors for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. The emission factor storage unit 232 stores emission factors associated with activities. The emission factor storage unit 232 stores multiple emission factors for each activity. The emission factor storage unit 232 stores emission factors for each company ID.

[0018] Furthermore, the emission factor storage unit 232 can store activities and emission factors for multiple activities, associating them with set identification information that identifies a set of emission factors for each activity (emission factor set). The set identification information may be, for example, a label or a tag. The set identification information can be set by the user. For example, by storing emission sets for each activity, including the latest emission factors and the emission factors for each activity from 10 years ago, it is possible to calculate the emissions calculated using the emission factors from 10 years ago and the emissions calculated using the latest emission factors for the same amount of activity, and to compare these.

[0019] In this embodiment, the emission coefficient storage unit 232 stores information that identifies an activity and the emission coefficient, associating them with the company ID and set identification information (set name).

[0020] The emissions storage unit 233 stores emissions. The emissions storage unit 233 can store a company ID indicating a company, time information (year and month) indicating the aggregation period, a set name indicating a set of emission factors, and emissions for each scope and category (only if there is a category). The scope and category can be, for example, those defined by the GHG protocol.

[0021] The activity memory unit 234 stores information about activities. The activity memory unit 234 associates the company ID with the information indicating the activity and stores the scope and category to which the activity belongs.

[0022] <Functional Section> The emissions calculation unit 211 calculates emissions. The emissions calculation unit 211 calculates emissions by multiplying the activity amount by the emission coefficient corresponding to the activity amount. The emissions calculation unit 211 can receive input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, refer to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculate emissions by multiplying the corresponding activity amount by the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information. The emissions calculation unit 211 can receive input of set identification information. The emissions calculation unit 211 can calculate emissions by multiplying each of the emission coefficients corresponding to the received set identification information by the corresponding activity amount. The emissions calculation unit 211 registers the calculated emissions in the emissions storage unit 233. The emissions calculation unit 211 can aggregate emissions by company ID indicating the company, year and month of activity, scope and category, and register them in the emissions storage unit 233.

[0023] The emissions output unit 212 outputs the emissions calculated by the emissions calculation unit 211. The emissions output unit 212 can aggregate and output emissions by company ID, activity year and month, scope, and category. The emissions output unit 212 can output the aggregated emissions as numbers or as graphs. The emissions output unit 212 can create screen information for displaying emissions and send it to the user terminal 1.

[0024] <Operation> Figure 4 illustrates the operation of the management server 2. The company ID to be output is assumed to be identified, for example, through user authentication.

[0025] The management server 2 accepts the specification of a set of emission coefficients (input of a set name) (S301), and obtains the emission coefficients corresponding to the accepted set name and company ID from the emission coefficient storage unit 232 (S302). The management server 2 obtains the activity amount corresponding to the company ID (S303). The management server 2 can obtain the activity amount from, for example, the activity amount storage unit 231, but it may also receive the activity amount from the user terminal 1.

[0026] Management server 2 calculates emissions using the acquired set of emission factors and the acquired activity amount (S304). For each acquired activity amount, management server 2 can identify the emission factor in the set corresponding to the activity and calculate emissions by multiplying the activity amount by the identified emission factor.

[0027] Management server 2 aggregates and outputs the calculated emissions (S305).

[0028] As described above, according to the information processing system of this embodiment, when there are multiple emission factors for the same activity, the emission amount can be calculated using a specified emission factor.

[0029] <Second Embodiment> The second embodiment addresses cases where there may be multiple activity levels for a single activity. Figure 5 shows an example of the software configuration of the management server 2 according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the management server 2 further includes an update unit 213, a set storage unit 235, and a setting information storage unit 236.

[0030] The set storage unit 235 stores pairs of activity levels and emission coefficients. In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are multiple activity levels for a single activity. The set storage unit 235 stores the activity levels and activity coefficients in association with the activity and set identification information (set name) that identifies the set of activity levels for each activity. In this embodiment, the set storage unit 235 stores a record (set information) that includes a company ID indicating the company, time information (year and month), set name, information identifying the activity, activity level, and emission coefficient. Multiple sets of set information are registered in the set storage unit 235 for a single activity. In the second embodiment, it is assumed that there are multiple activity levels for a single activity, but there may also be one activity level and multiple emission coefficients for a single activity (similar to the first embodiment). Furthermore, there may also be multiple activity levels and multiple emission coefficients for a single activity, in which case set information can be registered for each pair of activity level and emission coefficient. The set identification information may be, for example, a label or a tag. The set identification information can be set by the user.

[0031] The configuration information storage unit 236 stores configuration information related to sets of activity levels (and emission coefficient pairs). The configuration information includes a company ID that identifies the company, a set name, an activity level synchronization flag, and an emission coefficient synchronization flag. The activity level synchronization flag is a flag value that indicates whether to synchronize activity levels between different sets of information for the same activity. The emission coefficient synchronization flag is a flag value that indicates whether to synchronize emission coefficients between different sets of information for the same activity.

[0032] The emissions calculation unit 211 can accept input of information that identifies an activity and information that identifies the amount of activity (set name). The emissions calculation unit 211 can read the set information corresponding to the accepted activity and set name from the set storage unit 235, and calculate the emissions for each activity by multiplying the amount of activity and emission coefficient included in the read set information.

[0033] The update unit 213 synchronizes the set information when the set information is updated. When the set information is updated, the update unit 213 updates other set information with the same activity as the updated set information. When a set information is updated, the update unit 213 reads the setting information corresponding to the company ID of the updated set information from the setting information storage unit 236. If the activity amount synchronization flag of the read setting information is true, when the activity amount of the set information is updated, the update unit 213 searches the set storage unit 235 for other set information corresponding to the same activity and set name as the activity and set name included in the updated set information, and updates the activity amount of the other set information found to the activity amount of the updated set information. If the emission coefficient synchronization flag of the read setting information is true, when the emission coefficient of the set information is updated, the update unit 213 searches the set storage unit 235 for other set information corresponding to the same activity and set name as the activity and set name included in the updated set information, and updates the emission coefficient of the other set information found to the emission coefficient of the updated set information.

[0034] The emissions calculation unit 211 receives a specification of set identification information (set name), reads the set information corresponding to the received set name (and company ID) from the set storage unit 235, and calculates the emissions for each activity by multiplying the activity amount and emission coefficient stored in the read set information.

[0035] <Third Embodiment> In the third embodiment, it is assumed that multiple activity amounts for a single activity are registered in the activity amount storage unit 231. Figure 6 shows an example of the software configuration of the management server 2 according to the third embodiment. The activity amount storage unit 231 stores activity amounts associated with the company ID, set name, year and month, and activity. Therefore, multiple activity amounts with different set names may be registered for a single activity. Here, the set name can be information that identifies the activity amount. In the example in Figure 6, the emission coefficient storage unit 232 manages emission coefficients associated with set names, similar to the first embodiment, but the set name may be omitted, and one emission coefficient may be managed for each activity.

[0036] The emission calculation unit 211 accepts the specification of a set name, reads the year and month, activity and activity amount corresponding to the accepted set name and company ID from the activity amount storage unit 231, reads the emission coefficient corresponding to the read activity (and set name) from the emission coefficient storage unit 232, and calculates the emission amount for each activity by multiplying the read activity amount by the read emission coefficient.

[0037] Although these embodiments have been described above, they are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit its interpretation. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents thereof are also included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 User terminal 2 Management Server

Claims

1. An activity amount storage unit that stores activity amounts in association with activities that emit greenhouse gases, An emission factor storage unit that stores emission factors for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in association with the activity, the emission factor storage unit that stores a plurality of emission factors for one activity, An emission calculation unit receives input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, referring to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit. An information processing system characterized by comprising the following features.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, The emission factor storage unit stores the activity and the emission factor in association with set identification information that identifies an emission set, which includes one emission factor corresponding to each of the multiple activities. The emission calculation unit receives the input of the set identification information and calculates the emission by multiplying each of the emission coefficients corresponding to the received set identification information by the corresponding activity amount. An information processing system characterized by the following.

3. A set storage unit that stores records associating activity identification information that identifies activities that emit greenhouse gases, the amount of activity related to said activities, emission coefficients for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by said activities, and activity amount identification information that identifies said activity amount, wherein the set storage unit stores a plurality of said records for one said activity, An emission calculation unit receives the input of the activity identification information and the activity quantity identification information, reads the record corresponding to the received activity identification information and the activity quantity identification information from the set storage unit, and calculates the emission amount by multiplying the activity quantity and the emission coefficient contained in the read record, An information processing system characterized by comprising the following features.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, The system includes an update unit that, when the first emission coefficient of the first record stored in the set storage unit is updated to a second emission coefficient, identifies a second record from the set storage unit that contains the same activity identification information as the first record, and updates the emission coefficient of the identified second record to the second emission coefficient. An information processing system characterized by the following.

5. The information processing system according to claim 3, The activity level identification information is information that identifies a set containing one of the activity levels corresponding to each of the multiple activities. An information processing system characterized by the following.

6. The steps include: storing the activity amount in the activity amount memory unit in association with activities that emit greenhouse gases; A step of storing emission factors in an emission factor storage unit for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in association with the activity, wherein a plurality of emission factors are stored in the emission factor storage unit for each activity. The steps include receiving input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, referring to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, An information processing method characterized by a computer executing the following.

7. A step of storing in a set storage unit records that associate activity identification information that identifies an activity that emits greenhouse gases, the amount of activity related to the activity, an emission factor for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the activity, and emission factor identification information that identifies the emission factor, wherein a plurality of the records are stored for one of the activities, The steps include receiving the input of the activity identification information and the emission factor identification information, reading the record corresponding to the received activity identification information and the emission factor identification information from the set storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount and the emission factor contained in the read record, An information processing method characterized by a computer executing the following.

8. The steps include: storing the activity amount in the activity amount memory unit in association with activities that emit greenhouse gases; A step of storing emission factors in an emission factor storage unit for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in association with the activity, wherein a plurality of emission factors are stored in the emission factor storage unit for each activity. The steps include receiving input of information that identifies the emission coefficient, referring to the emission coefficient storage unit and the activity amount storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the emission coefficient corresponding to the received information by the corresponding activity amount, A program that causes a computer to execute something.

9. A step of storing in a set storage unit records that associate activity identification information that identifies an activity that emits greenhouse gases, the amount of activity related to the activity, an emission factor for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the activity, and emission factor identification information that identifies the emission factor, wherein a plurality of the records are stored for one of the activities, The steps include receiving the input of the activity identification information and the emission factor identification information, reading the record corresponding to the received activity identification information and the emission factor identification information from the set storage unit, and calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount and the emission factor contained in the read record, A program that causes a computer to execute something.

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